How Amari Cooper got loose -- the inside story

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ALAMEDA -- There's an inside story to the rediscovery of Amari Cooper.

Or at least it's part of the story.

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Coach Jack Del Rio isn't advertising it, but increased use as a slot receiver helped lead to a breakout game for the reigning AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Cooper has lined up in the slot occasionally, but never as much as he did in a 31-30 win over Kansas City. Of his 11 catches, Cooper caught six of them out of a slot, according to the Web site Sportradar US.

He had never caught more than three passes out of the slot in a single game. Other calculations included Cooper lining up in the slot 35 percent of the time where in the past the average has been 15.

You're getting more into strategy stuff, Del Rio said Wednesday as the Raiders began preparations to visit the Buffalo Bills. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that . . . I understand the desire to talk about it. We're just happy he had a great night.

A prime example was Cooper's second-quarter touchdown, a 45-yard pass from Derek Carr that put the Raiders up 14-10 late in the first quarter.

In a four-wide receiver set with an empty backfield, Michael Crabtree lined up on the outside left, with Cooper slotted inside. Seth Roberts was the slot receiver on the right, with Johnny Holton on the outside.

Cooper ran a shallow crossing route, the Chiefs were late to respond, and he caught Carr's pass in stride and turned upfield along the right sideline for the score.

Playing in the slot, as well as on both sides of the field, gives Cooper a chance to work against multiple defenders.

The benefit that I see is you go up against different players throughout the game, Cooper said. If you're constantly going against one player, then a smart player would learn your moves.

If you're going against all three guys, then you can use the same moves sometimes because they haven't seen it.

Carr likes the idea of variety as well.

People can't just set their watch to where he's going to be, Carr said. There's been times this year when he's been in the backfield. He's been out wide, he's inside. He's on the two-receiver side, he's on the one-receiver side. He's on the three-receiver side, but he's inside.

He's the second guy, he's the first guy. We definitely want to have something planned where he's all over the place.

If it sounds confusing, imagine the mental gymnastics that Cooper goes through on a given play.

You just have to study, study the game plan, make sure you know everything, Cooper said. Make sure you know all the different positions because you never know when you'll be asked to play in that spot.

On the 45-yard touchdown play, he not only had to execute his own route, but know what Crabtree was doing on the outside (pulling defenders with him deep to spread the field) as well as the responsiblities of Roberts and Holton.

That's very important, because you have to have spatial awareness, Cooper said. If you only know your route, you don't have that awareness. If you know the guy's route next to you, then you know how much space there is to work with.

Carr said the mastery of different positions is similar to LeBron James being able to play point guard, power forward or in the post if necessary.

Amari's the same kind of guy mentally, Carr said. He can go play `X,' he can play `Y,' he can play `Z.' I don't know if he can play quarterback, but he'd find a way to be successful.

The slot, of course, wasn't the only way the Raiders got Cooper open against the Chiefs.

On the first series, Cooper was split wide left and bracketed by Terrance Mitchell and Marcus Peters. Carr gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch, who looked headed for the middle on a running play, drawing Peters inside.

When Lynch flipped the ball back to Carr on a flea flicker play, Cooper was one-on-one with Mitchell -- precisely the matchup the Raiders wanted. There was contact but no flag, and Cooper made the catch for a 38-yard touchdown.

Being creative with Cooper was a common criticism when the receiver went into a slump during the four-game losing streak in which he caught nine passes for 51 yards. Former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown and quarterback Rich Gannon were among those who felt an effort to include Cooper was lacking.

Carr insists the 19 targets to Cooper was a function of the game plan and the Chiefs covrerage, and not a concerted effort to put the ball in his hands. The last time a Raiders receiver was targeted 19 times was Jerry Rice in 2002, a game in which Gannon threw 64 passes against Pittsburgh.

I was just playing the game how I saw it, how I saw them playing, and it was things we had talked about, so it wasn't about of the blue, Carr said. I was like, `Dang, 19. That has to be a record for him. That's a lot.'

The process to get Cooper going actually began the previous week against San Diego, when Cooper caught five passes for just 28 yards but had catches of 31 and 19 yards called back by penalty.

There is still the matter of the occasional dropped pass. Profootballfocus.com had Cooper for three more against the Chiefs (although at least two were not exactly routine).

Cooper will look at those plays even harder than he did the 11 receptions.

I'm always trying to get better, Cooper said. I think I could have made some of those plays where the ball came my way and I didn't come away with it, definitely.

-- Elijah Hood, a seventh-round draft pick out of North Carolina, was promoted from the practice squad to fill the roster spot left by the one-game suspension of Lynch.

-- Defensive lineman Jhaustin Thomas, an undrafted rookie out of Iowa State, was signed to fill a vacancy on the practice squad.

-- Right tackle Marshall Newhouse was participating in drills after missing the Chiefs game with a foot injury.